Minneola delays vote on manager

The four City Council members on hand Tuesday night postponed a decision to fire Behrens until their next meeting in two weeks, when all five members are expected to be present.

The main dispute is whether the city has adequate cause to terminate Behrens and withhold three months of severance and other benefits he would be allowed under his contract with the city.

Mayor David Yeager and council member Joe Teri didn't support firing Behrens with cause. However, council member Shane Perreault said Behrens had been insubordinate by not following council directives. And council member Ed Earl said that has happened several times.

"This isn't a single incident. This is numerous incidents," Earl said.

Yeager said he did not agree with how Minneola came to this point. He said he felt the city should let Behrens go without contesting cause.

"What amazes me is how the city of Minneola can't get to the next step," Yeager said.

Council member Sue Cordova -- who also supported Behrens' termination -- was out of town Tuesday. She is expected to be back for the next meeting. Until then, Behrens will remain suspended with pay.

A majority of council members agreed June 26 that they did not want to renew Behrens' contract for an additional two years, citing various issues about his performance and the often rocky relationship he had with them. They then opted to suspend Behrens with pay pending a formal decision on his termination.

Behrens has held the manager's post for 1 1/2 years. He replaced Lewie Wise, who left Minneola to work for the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

In May, council members submitted written evaluations that criticized Behrens for having close relations with outside consultants and for living with an employee he had hired -- now-retired community-development director Carl Gosline.

One council member later argued that Behrens seemed to put more effort toward projects he supported while sandbagging others. Behrens also was slammed for recently allowing the Florida Lakes Symphony to use City Hall for auditions without council permission.

On the other side, Behrens was complimented for his planning skills and for working well with the community, although he had a shaky relationship with the council. Behrens worked for cheap -- he was Lake County's lowest-paid manager, earning $68,682. That salary is less than his own public-works director.

The council did not decide how to advertise for Behrens' replacement. Teri has suggested speeding up the hunt by looking at finalists for manager searches in other cities such as Eustis and Tavares.

City Clerk Jan McDaniel is serving as acting manager until a replacement is hired.